The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, best known as FINRA, fined San Diego's CUSO Financial Services $125,000 for selling highly leveraged unit investment trusts to customers, often elderly, who had indicated they had low tolerance for risk. FINRA is a nongovernmental regulator in the securities industry.
Neither the broker nor his two supervisors "understood the potential risks" of the investment trusts, many of which were sold to senior citizens, said FINRA. The firm sold $4.6 million of these instruments, and investors lost $443,000 on them. CUSO has been told to pay $47,510 in restitution.
The firm lacked "reasonable supervision," said FINRA. "The firm's supervisory system was not reasonably designed to ensure that the firm's solicitations and sales of these [trusts] were suitable for customers."
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, best known as FINRA, fined San Diego's CUSO Financial Services $125,000 for selling highly leveraged unit investment trusts to customers, often elderly, who had indicated they had low tolerance for risk. FINRA is a nongovernmental regulator in the securities industry.
Neither the broker nor his two supervisors "understood the potential risks" of the investment trusts, many of which were sold to senior citizens, said FINRA. The firm sold $4.6 million of these instruments, and investors lost $443,000 on them. CUSO has been told to pay $47,510 in restitution.
The firm lacked "reasonable supervision," said FINRA. "The firm's supervisory system was not reasonably designed to ensure that the firm's solicitations and sales of these [trusts] were suitable for customers."
Comments
Is FINRA doing its part against multi level marketing practices used by multiple insurance companies and insurance marketing firms using inexperienced, poorly trained, unsophisticated carnival barker sales agents to sucker unsuspecting clients into highly risky and unsuitable VUL Insurance Investment contracts that have high loads, high fees, exaggerated "guaranteed" returns pegged to the Wall St. Rollercoaster?!
Do you see any evidence of FINRA doing its job both in CA and Nationwide against predatory insurance sales agents?!
SportsFan0000: Generally, insurance is regulated on the state level. FINRA deals with securities violations. It wouldn't get involved with marketing of insurance products, but might pursue a company using dubious sales techniques if it has broken securities rules, too. Best, Don Bauder